Peregrine Higgins' Tuesday night art class at the Art Center of Northern New Jersey

David by Peregrine © Art by Two

Memory of My Mother Teaching Her Drawing Class

Making her way around the room, Peregrine is always careful to praise the strengths in her student’s work before making gentle suggestions for improvement. During every class the refrain “practice, practice, practice” can be heard. In one class there are several new students who are self conscious and worried that others will judge their work, or that they won’t be able to loosen up and draw. Peregrine looks around the room, then does a little dance singing softly the lyrics of the song I’m Too Sexy by the English trio Right Said Fred ... 

“I’m too sexy for my shirt ... I’m too sexy for my hat ... I’m too sexy for my car ...” Shocked silence is followed by looks of delight. Clearly this is no ordinary drawing class.

Posing for Peregrine

Memory of Dragon Shadows

I am four. My mother and I are hanging paper dragon mobiles from the ceiling that we”ve just finished painting and cutting out. We are in an upstairs room that is Peregrine’s room at my grandparents. I am watching the dragon shadows floating across the walls as the air currents gently move the mobiles. The shadows swell and flow across my mothers art and a series of beautiful Indian miniature paintings. 

Posing for Peregrine © Art by Two

Memories of Posing for my Mother

Peregrine complains that even my eyelashes move! To this day I cannot be still if confined to a small space, whether it be on a car trip, in a plane or camping out in a 'mummy bag'. I have to flex my knees, elbows, roll my neck ...

Landscape set into a Still Life Interior

Artist's Room With Cat by Peregrine Higgins, pen and ink, 8 x 14"

Setting a window with a view of a landscape is a device used to combine still life and landscape. Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century by Sabine Rewald from an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New york  has beautiful examples of this interior view.

Nude Figure Drawing by Peregrine Higgins

Seated Nude Model by Peregrine Higgins pen and ink

Draw the figure as often as possible to have the line fall where you want it without over thinking the drawing. My mother, Peregrine, would make the circuit in Northern New Jersey to open figure drawing sessions, finding three or four a week. Then she would housesit for a friend in New York City for one or two weeks at a time and walk over to Spring Studio in Soho drawing two or three sessions a day. When she returned home after a week or two of this her drawings would seem to flow effortlessly onto her pads. People often say to me, "I wish I could draw" and I tell them they can draw, they just need the desire to do so and time to practice.

Art with Family

Peregrine © Maud Guilfoyle, charcoal, 11 x 11 "

When my mother entered a nursing home, I bought blank journals and sketchbooks in pairs and would visit with art supplies and set us up to draw each other. We filled a couple of moleskine journals and a couple of dozen loose sheets of paper. If you have an elder artist friend or relative supply them with art materials and books of art they loved when active to keep the art spirit alive.

Artist and Model

Artist and Nude Model © Peregrine Higgins, pen and ink

Bobbie Golden watercolor by Peregrine Higgins

Bobbie Golden by Peregrine Higgins, 1999, watercolor, © Art by Two 

I see that there is a show at the Art Center of Northern New Jersey of art of Bobbie Golden over 30 years. My mother, Peregrine, has drawn and painted Bobbie for 25 of those 30 years. I just finished writing a memoir about growing up with my mother, artist Peregrine Higgins. The image of this painting is included in this e book. Bobbie has the greatest collection of hats for modeling in costume.

Winter Cardinals journal page from Peregrine Higgins

Winter Cardinals Journal Page © Art By Two

Still proofing ... This page is from one of my mother Peregrine Higgins' journals. She had bird feeders outside her window and kept them filled all through cold weather. Ten years ago we might have seen 12 cardinals, half a dozen blue jays,   assorted titmice, finches, morning doves and grackles at one time.